Pony Life

by JetWave Wavewind

Ch. 8

Well, when I first met you I thought you were very nice and sweet and, well.. You know how things were before you came...

"Hey Wedgie! Come iron these clothes for me!"

"O-ok..!"

"Get back to work!" Helga said with a crack of her whip.

"O-ok!"

"You call these clean?! I thought Sharene said you were good at washing dishes!"

"I-I am.."

After a particularly rough day of teasing, I decided to go ahead and turn in for the night. "You ok Lemmy?"

"Y-yeah, just the usual day..." I said as I turned my back to the red pegasus behind me. "You wanna talk about it?" She asked as she hopped on my bunk. "It was the same as every other day, only a little worse.." I said, not turning around. "How worse?" She asked. "I-I don't know, it just felt worse today..." I said with a sniffle. "Ok then, just hang in there." She said as she patted my back with her wing and walked over to her own bunk beside mine. "Thanks Carol.." I said, then rolling over on my stomach to where I could see her in her bunk. "Why are you going to bed this early?"

"I had a few more chores than normal today."

"Oh.." We both laid there in our own bunks in silence for a while, a few other fillies had come to bed by now but they all fell asleep quickly. "Hey Carol,"

"Hmm..?"

"You still awake?"

"Yeah.. What is it Lemmy?"

"When do you think it will happen?"

"What do you mean by 'it'?"

"You know.." I said, looking off towards the ground. Carol let out a sigh as she responded. "I have no idea. It could be tomorrow, next week, or even another year. I have no way of knowing. And whenever I do get adopted, I just hope that the ponies are nice and not total flanks."

"Yeah...."

"Hey," She said, turning in her bunk to where she could look me in the eye. "It's nothing to worry yourself over. It'll happen when it happens."

"Right.."

"If you're that worried about it, you should practice your magic to give yourself an edge. I'm sure that would help a lot."

"Ok."

"Now, I'm tired. So I'm gonna go to sleep now, Good night Lemmy."

"Good night Carol." I said as we both drifted off to sleep.

~<(^)>~

"Carol, wake up! She's about to come through!" I didn't have to say anything else as Carol sprung up from her bunk and almost fell on the floor. "Thanks for the warning."

"No problem." I said with a smile. "Alright you lazy orphans, get your flanks downstairs for breakfast." She said with a crack of her whip and we all went down to our typically bad breakfast. I sat across from Carol and Sharlene and Rob sat on each side of me.

"You ready to do my chores today Wedgie?" Rob said as he tried to choke back the stale pancakes Helga had made. "I..."

"Of course she is! What a stupid question to ask. And she's going to be doing my chores today too, right Wedgie?"

"I...."

"See? She's too much of a doormat to NOT do our chores. Use your head next time you open your mouth Robert."

"Don't call me Robert!"

"I'll call you whatever I want, Robert!" I put my head down as they started to argue about the same petty stuff they did every morning. I felt a harsh gaze on me and when I looked up I saw Carol giving me a look that was telling me not to just take what those two had said lying down. "A-actually, I'm not...." I squeaked.

"What was that, Wedgie?" Sharlene said, giving me a harsh glare. I shrunk away from it and wouldn't have repeated myself if I hadn't felt a harsher glare on me still from across the table. "I-I-I said, I'm not going to be d-doing your chores...." I said, my voice growing smaller and smaller as I went on. "Says who?"

"Says me." Carol said from across the table. I looked over to her and she was shooting Sharlene one of the harshest glares I had ever seen. "Oh yeah? And whats a feather-weight like you going to do about it?" Sharlene said as she lit up her horn.

I had to do something, anything to keep Carol from getting hurt. Even though she may not like to admit it, Carol isn't the strongest flier around and has trouble even fluttering sometimes. If her and Sharlene get into in, Sharlene could seriously hurt her and I don't want that to happen. I focused hard on the pancakes in front of Sharlene, trying to make them do something, anything to distract her long enough for Carol to make a run for it.

I felt a sharp pain come from my horn and I lost focus on the pancakes, causing them to explode all over Sharlene. Carol and Rob started laughing at the sight but Rob stopped immediately when Sharlene gave him a death glare. Carol wasn't silenced so easily though and kept on laughing until Helga cracked her flank with her whip.

Sharlene was about to say something but whatever it was never made it out of her mouth when Helga shot her a look. "Breakfast is over. You three! Clean up this mess!" She said with another crack that caused everypony but me, Carol and Sharlene to hop up and go to their own chores.

The entire kitchen was a mess, not just from the exploding pancakes but from everyponies plates and the mess that Helga had made when preparing breakfast. I stuck close to Carol the whole time while we cleaned. "I'm sorry....." I said as I scrubbed a plate. "Sorry? For what?" Carol said as she took the plate I had been scrubbing and rinsed it in the water. "For getting you in trouble...."

"What? This? This is totally worth seeing the look on Sharlenes face when those pancakes exploded on her!" She said with a laugh. "If anypony needs to apologize, it's her for trying to force her chores on you like that."

"Yeah..." I said as I looked out of the corner of my eye to Sharlene. She was glaring at both me and Carol while she swept up the mess from before. Carol saw where I was looking and made a face at her, causing her to huff and continue sweeping while turning her head. "Stick close to me today, I don't think she's going to be too friendly for awhile." She said, as she put her hoof to her chin. "Actually, I don't think she's going to be too friendly ever." She continued, causing me to giggle. "Thanks Carol.."

"Hey, what're friends for?" She said as she draped a wing over me as I leaned into her. "Now c'mon, we had better finish these before Helga cracks both our flanks."

~<(^)>~

We were working in the garden when a couple of upper-class ponies came by the orphanage. I noticed that Carol had hid behind a bush when they walked by and let out a sigh when they went inside the orphanage. "What was that about?" I asked as we got back to work tending the garden. "I don't wanna risk them seeing me if they're looking for a daughter." She explained.

"Y-you mean, you don't want to get adopted?" I asked, shocked that she had avoided their sight for that reason. "No, I do. But not by them.. They reeked of snobbishness and superiority. I don't wanna turn out like that."

"Oh, ok.." I said as we went back to gardening. "Is it ok if we stay out here until they leave?" She asked me. "S-sure!" I said. We finished gardening and sat under the bushes while we waited to hear the bell on the door chime and those two ponies from before walk out. "So, what kind of ponies do you want to adopt you?" I asked after awhile.

"Somepony nice, and caring, and friendly to be around. Basically somepony who is everything Helga isn't." She joked. I laughed for a minute, thinking how nice it would be if somepony like that took Helgas place here. "What about you? What do you hope the ponies who adopt you are like?" She asked.

"I-I don't really know, I'd just be happy to get out of here.." I said with a sigh. I felt something on my shoulder and saw that Carol had wrapped her wing around me. "Maybe the same ponies will adopt both of us. It would be pretty awesome to have you as a sister." She said. I gave her a big hug when she said that, that she returned in full. "I hope so.." I said, tears of joy streaming down my face. "Ah, there she is." We heard Helga say as the door chimed.

I looked up to see her standing in front of the door with the two ponies from before. "You two, get out here." She barked at us. I hoped out immediately while Carol was a bit slower to come out. "Hmmm... Yes, we'll take the red pegasus. What do you think dear?" The stallion said in a voice that sounded like he had a head full of snot. "Yes, I concur. We'll take the pegasus." The mare said sounded just as stuffed up.

"What?!" Me and Carol said as the same time. "Very well, come with me and we'll get the paperwork taken care of. You too feather brain." Helga said as she picked Carol up in her magic. "NO!!!" She cried as she squirmed about trying to break out of something intangible. I reached out and grabbed her hooves but they were sweaty and I lost my grip as I fell backwards and got up with just enough time to see the fear on her face before the door closed behind the four ponies.

I just sat there in the garden, not paying any attention to the weather ponies gathering storm clouds in the sky. When the rain started coming down I rolled up underneath the bush me and Carol had been under when she was taken.

"Maybe the same ponies will adopt both of us. It would be pretty awesome to have you as a sister."

The phrase echoed in my head and my tears began to mix with the rain that had started coming down harder and the mud that it was making below me. I heard the bell on the door chime but it only caused me to crack my eyes open a little bit. "Come along now Carol dear, we don't want to get our manes messy." I heard the mare say as her and the stallion walked past my line of sight from under the bush. Carol tagged behind at a slower pace than them, I arched my head to where I could see her face through the leaves and wished that I hadn't.

Her face was dark, even through the rain and tears I could see the stains of her own tears on her face. After she passed I fell back into a fit of sobs and wallowed in the pit that was beginning to feel more and more like home with every second I laid in it. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

"No.. Please no..."

I looked up just in time to see a dark red blast push me out from under my bush and into the garden that me and Carol had been working on. "I bet you think you're pretty clever, Don'tcha? Pulling that stunt with the pancakes at breakfast this morning." Sharlene said as she came around to the side of the bush the garden was in. "N-no......" I whined, sobbing all the more as I laid there in the mud.

"What? Are you crying?!" She cried as she shot another magic blast at me. "You made me look like a fool at breakfast, get me in trouble to where I have to clean the kitchen AND do all the chores that you were supposed to be doing, AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO BE CRYING?!" She cried as she slammed her hoof into the side of my shoulder and pushed me deeper into the mud. I was sobbing much harder than I had been before. Partly from pain, partly from the loss of my best friend. My eyes burned as I was pushed deeper and deeper into the mud, the rain was coming down much harder now and it was getting harder to breathe with it slapping mud in my face every time I took a sob.

Just when I felt like letting go, I heard a sickening crack that was all too familiar. I looked up and saw Helga with her whip looming over both of us like an angry god in the rain. She brought her whip down on Sharlene again and grabbed her by the tail in her dark purple aura. "I will not have the reputation of this orphanage tarnished by some mare with her head so far up her own flank that she can hardly take a crap without swallowing it, killing the most spineless orphan we have here!!!" She bellowed as she cracked her whip right where Sharlenes flank met her tail and dropped her down in the mud. "Now both of you get your sorry excuses for flanks inside and clean yourselves up!!" She barked at us and we both ran inside.

After I had scrubbed most of the mud off my coat I went to the bedroom and plopped myself on my bunk. Even though I could have kept crying if I wanted to, I didn't have any more tears left to shed and Carol wouldn't want both of us feeling bad like this if she could help it. I had to force myself not to look at her old bunk so that my tears wouldn't replenish. I eventually fell managed to fall asleep, exhausted both physically and emotionally.

~<(^)>~

I woke up from what was the worst sleep of my life and almost walked over to Carols old bunk to wake her before I remembered that she wasn't there anymore. "Alright you spineless orphans, listen up!" Helga bellowed as she entered the room. I felt a tug on my tail and before I knew it I was being levitated by Helga in front of all the fillies in the room along with Sharlene. "Due to an incident yesterday, these two unicorns are not to come within five hooves of each other! Anyone who sees that they are within that distance of each other is to either push them apart or alert me to it! Understood?" All the fillies in the room nodded in agreement and Helga released her magical hold on us and we dropped to the floor.

The rule was upheld vigorously with a few ponies even starting to take sides. Most of them stook up for Sharlene because she would go out and get ponies to follow her by bending the story around to where the tables were turned. I didn't care about getting ponies on my side and even if I did I would have been to shy to even try. Eventually the truth of what happened got out and the ponies that had sided with Sharlene stopped talking to her all together and she became one of the loneliest ponies at the orphanage. Eventually she was adopted and so were most of the other ponies that were around when the whole incident had happened. The only pony I ever really talked to now was Flash and that was on rare occasion when we would have the same chores for the day.

There were still ponies that would call me "Wedgie" or try to force their chores on me, but none were ever as bad as Sharlene but I also never had the backbone to tell them no either, and without someone like Carol to get me to say no I would just let them walk all over me.

One day, I was working in the garden alone like I had been doing ever since Carol had left when a colt approached me. "Excuse me, is this the ManeHatten Orphanage?" He asked. I looked up and saw he was a pegasus with a sea green coat and light blue mane and tail. "Y-yes," I said as I got up. "I-I'm Lemon Wedge."

"Ivory Blossom." He said as he held out his hoof. I shakily shook it and went back to gardening. I still felt him looming over me and it caused me to freeze up. "Can I come in?" He asked. "O-oh! yes, but.. aren't you a little young to be wanting to adopt somepony?" I asked, seeing that he could only have been a few years older than me.

"Actually... I was wondering if you had room for me, I've been wandering around a lot and it's really starting to get me down.." He said as his wings drooped. "O-of course! Come with me." I said as I got up and led him inside. "Flash would probably be the better pony to show you around than me, I think he was dusting last time I saw him." I said as we walked into the living room where a brown unicorn colt with an orange mane was dusting the coffee table. "Hey Flash." I said, barely audible.

"Hey Lemon Wedge, I didn't expect to see you out of the garden so early." He said as he stopped dusting. "What's up?"

"Nothing really.. This is Ivory, he's new and needs somepony to show him around."

"Follow me then my good colt, and welcome to Tartarus." Flash said in the same jovial voice he took with all the new fillies and colts that were old enough to get the joke. "I-I'll be in the garden if you need me.." I said as I headed back outside. "I'll see ya later Lemmy." He called back to me. I don't know why, but it made me feel weird inside. "Hey Wedgie!" I heard an all to familiar voice call out. No pony had treated me as badly as Sharlene had but this colt was a close second.

"You're still going to do the laundry and ironing aren't you?" Rob said as he caught me just as I was about to go back out to the garden. "I..."

"That's what I thought, go ahead and get it done. I don't want Helga yelling at me!"

"Why don't you do it yourself?" I heard somepony from behind me say. I turned to see that Ivory was standing there staring at Rob. "Because she already agreed to do them!"

"Really?" He said with an incredulous look. "Yeah! Isn't that right Wedgie?" Rob said, shooting a quick glare at me that caused me to back down. "I think you're lying." Ivory said as bluntly as possible. "What proof do you have?" Rob accused.

Ivory calmly walked over to me and placed his wing on my shoulder. "Lemmy, did you say that you would do this flanks laundry?" He asked.

"Who're you callin' a flank, feather brain!" Rob cried.

"Be quiet, will you? Now did you?" He asked again. I shook my head no and he smiled and released his wing from me. "There we have it then, go do your own laundry."

"She's lying! She's a compulsive liar! I wouldn't expect you to know that since you're new here of though, you should thank me for-" He was cut-off when Flash smacked his hoof against the back of his head.

"Shut up Robert. If anyone around here is a compulsive liar it's you." He said. Right then we heard heavy hoof steps coming down the stairs. "Go ahead and get back to your garden Lemon Wedge, we'll take the heat here." Flash said as he kept the bell from chiming with his magic while I went back out front.

I just sat there on the front step for a moment or two, my heart pounding against my chest. Somepony had stepped in and stopped somepony else from forcing their work on me. Nopony had done that since Carol was still around. My train of thought was interrupted by a trio of screams from inside. I jumped up and ran into the garden and started working just in time for Helga to come out and glare at me before heading back in. I released a breath I didn't know I had been holding and returned to gardening in peace when she left.

~<(^)>~

I heard about what had happened later from Flash that he and Rob weren't going to be getting any supper but Ivory just got the lashings from earlier since he was new. I decided to sit next to Ivory at supper that night so I would have a chance to thank him for what he did. When we sat down I saw that Helga had ordered pizza just to make it sting all the worse for Flash and Rob while we ate. I felt kinda bad about it but I was glad that the food was actually edible for once. "Wow, this is good." Ivory said as he took a bite out of a slice of cheese and mushrooms.

"Y-yeah, don't get to used to it though.. She normally only does this to torture the the ponies who have been bad." I said as I bit into my slice of peppers and onions. "That's pretty cruel.." He said as he took another bite. "That's Helga.. Try and save a slice for Flash, pizza is his favorite."

"I was going to anyways, he's a nice pony."

"Y-yeah," I said, as we fell into the pace of eating. "Umm.. T-thank you for earlier..."

"Hmm?"

"T-thank you.."

"For what?"

"For talking Rob down like that.. That was really nice of you."

"Hey, what're friends for?" He said as wrapped his wing around me. I felt incredibly warm in his embrace, like he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. It felt familiar somehow but I couldn't quite place it, all I knew was that my heart felt like it could pound out of my chest at any moment.

"Eat!" Helga bellowed with a crack of her whip. When I came back to reality I saw that I was leaning into him and that most of the ponies had been staring at us. I quickly sat up and continued to eat. I just knew that there was a huge blush on my face.

After we finished eating we all went up to bed while Flash and Rob did the dishes. I felt a huge blush come to my face when I accidentally walked in on Ivory when he was about to take a bath.

"Sorry!" I shouted as I quickly ran to the girls bedroom and hid under my sheets to hide my blush. After he was out, I went in and took my bath. I don't know why but it felt weird for me to be bathing right after him. When I finished I walked back to the girls bedroom and fell asleep.

~<(^)>~

The next day was better than any other day had been since Carol left. I woke up to the same ritual that I always had, only with a better nights sleep than ever; Rob had avoided me all day, and I got to hang out with Flash and Ivory since we all had the same chores that day, except for gardening which I would always have to myself.

Flash and Ivory managed to get in trouble some how while I was out in the garden and didn't get any supper that night. I wasn't too surprised because Flash was notorious for getting into trouble whether it was his fault or not and Ivory was still getting used to the way things worked around here.

After supper I asked Flash what they did to get in trouble. "When me and Ivory were doing the laundry earlier we spilled bleach on one of Helgas favorite dresses." He said rather sheepishly. "I-it wasn't the blue and silver one was it??" I asked. "Yup, that's the one."

"O-oh my, I wouldn't be surprised if you don't get supper again tomorrow night.." I said, causing him to laugh. "Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me either! Think I should break it to Ive?" I felt my face get hot when he said his name. "Or should you?" He added.

"Wh-wh-what?? What are you talking about.. There's nothing there's nothing I want to tell Ivory!" I said, a little louder than I intended to. "What are you talking about?" He asked. I could feel the already brilliant blush on my face just growing brighter. "You like him don't you?~" He said in a singsong voice.

"Sh-shut up.." I said as I looked off to the side. "No need to get so defensive, Lemon Wedge. I was just teasing," He said as he started heading to the boys bedroom. "But you probably should tell him eventually."

It was right then that it hit me. I liked Ivory Blossom. But he never seemed to get any of the hints I would drop. I started to think that he might not like me back. But one day, the same day Flash had been adopted; Ivory did something that I never thought he would do.

"You wanna go get something to eat?" He asked as we sat in awkward silence on the couch.

"B-but we aren't aloud any supper tonight!" I said, shocked at the idea that he was practically asking me out on a date.

"She just said no supper, meaning she wasn't going to fix us anything tonight. She didn't say we couldn't go out and about. And if we 'happen' to get something to eat, how is she going to find out? Besides, me and Flash always do this whenever we aren't allowed any supper."

"O-ok." I said with a smile as I got up, my stomach growling as I did. "That's the spirit!" He chuckled as he got up, his own stomach growling also. We both laughed at our stomachs and went out on our date!

~<(^)>~

The sun was just starting to set and Ivory took me on a walk through Central Park. "A walk through the park at sunset, how romantic!" I cheered in my head as we walked side by side the whole time. After awhile, our stomachs got the better of us and Ivory took me to Guy's Equestrian Kitchen and Bar for supper.

When we walked in, there was a unicorn mixing a drink behind the bar. "Hey Guy!" Ivory called out. He stopped shaking the drink and smiled as he looked over at us. "Ive! Get your sorry flank up here!" He called out, I was about to maybe suggest a different restaurant but I saw Ivory was already trotting up to the bar, so I followed behind slowly.

As we got up to the bar he finished serving the drink to the other pony that was at the bar and messed up Ivory's mane with his hoof. "How's my favorite trouble maker?" he asked.

"Hehe, I'm good. We got sentenced to no supper." Ivory said.

"'course ya did, otherwise you wouldn't be here." He quipped. "You two want the usual?"

"I do, but Flash ain't with me this time."

"Heh, I find that hard to believe. He gets into more trouble than I did when I was your age."

"It's true, I haven't seen him since this morning actually. Anyways, I got Lemmy here in trouble with me earlier today."

"Aw c'mon Ive, leave the innocents out of your schemes." He said with a chuckle. "Now where is the unlucky colt?"

"SHE, is actually sitting right next to me." Ivory said, I could tell he was trying not to laugh so I didn't blush any brighter but it wasn't working to well. "Oh, terribly sorry miss. I guess Lemmy is just what this feather brain here calls ya." Guy said as he gave Ivory another noogie.

"Oh no, it's fine. It's better than what some of the other kids at the orphanage call me." I said, not wanting to embarrass him. "Why do they call you that anyways?" Ivory asked. "I don't know..."

"Well, my name is Guy Fieri." He said as he held out his hoof. "I'm Lemon Wedge." I said with a smile as I met his hoof. I was really glad I had gotten better at talking to other ponies now. "Now what can I get for you two?"

"Oh, I'll just have an apple cider." I said. "Me too, and an order of garlic fries."

"Two ciders and a garlic fry, coming up!" He said as he grabbed a couple of mugs in his magic and quickly filled them as he put the order in at the kitchen. "Here ya go!" He said as he slammed the drinks on the counter. "Thanks Guy." Ivory said as he reached for the bits to pay him but Guy stopped him. "Don't even think about it Ive, it's on the house."

"Thanks Guy!" He said as he took a big swig of cider. I was taking more moderated sips. "So what'd you two do anyways to lose your supper privileges?" He asked as the garlic fries were brought out. I stopped drinking as I felt a slight blush come on. "Ehehehe, you ever had someone walk in on you at a really bad time and think something is happening that is the exact opposite of what was actually happening?" Ivory asked. Guy put the glass he had been polishing down and paid full attention to our story.

"Maybe, what did they think and what was actually happening?" Ivory went into a rapid explanation of what all happened that he ended with a deep breath and a swig of cider.

"Heheh, that's an interesting way to take a mare out on a first date." Guy quipped which caused Ivory to do a spit-take. I blushed brighter than I had all night when he did that because he almost did it all over me! "Date?! No! It's not like that!" Ivory started out before he was interrupted by Guy. "Mhmm, what did you two do before you walked here?" He asked.

"We went for a walk in the park-oh! While I'm thinking of it, can we get another order of garlic fries? I think she's really hungry cause she had to lean on me practically the whole walk." He said, causing Guy to fall over laughing and me to blush even brighter than I had been.

~<(^)>~

"And that's how I feel about you. Since the moment I met you, I've always felt this way Ivory." I said.

"O-oh.." Ivory said.

"I-ivory.." I said, I could already feel tears starting to well up.

"Lemmy, I-I'm so sorry.. But I always thought of you as a sister, like Carol seemed to be to you." He said.

"Sister.."

The word rang in my mind like the bell on the orphanage door. That was it, that's what had felt so familiar that first night when he wraped his wing around me! It wasn't that I had a crush on him. It was because it felt just like it did when Carol would wrap her wing around me to comfort me! He was my brother! I have a big brother!!

"L-lemmy?" He said. Oh! Right, he's still here! And he's my brother!

"..B-br-br..." I stuttered. C'mon, you've shouted it in your mind multiple times now. Just say it! "Br-br-bro-brother... Big Brother!!!" I cried as I tackled him in a hug.

"What's going on in here?!" Margret cried as her and Scootaloo came running into the kitchen. "I've got a brother!" I cried as I held Ivory in my forehooves. "Can't...breathe..." He wheezed. "Oops.." I said as I let go of him. He gasped for air that I had apparently been depriving him of since I grabbed him in the hug.

"I wanna bwothah too!" Scootaloo cried. "C'mere Scoots," Ivory called, Scootaloo ran up to him immediately. "I'm your brother also." He said as he gave her a hug. "Yay!!" She cheered as she hugged him back. I saw him whisper something to her but I couldn't tell what it was, but it was something sneaky by the looks of those smiles on their faces.

"Lemmy in the middle!!" They cried at once as they tackled me from both sides in a hug. We just laughed as we rolled around in the floor for who knows how long. "..Did I, miss something in here?" Margret asked after awhile. "It's a long story Margret," I said as we all got up. "A really long story."

Author's Note:

Whoo!! I've been wanting to do a chapter from Lemmys perspective for awhile now! I just never guessed it would be an origin thing, and I also didn't expect this chapter to be so LONG! I actually expected this to be one of my shortest chapters yet. But eh, ya never know what'll pop into your head right. Next chapter I plan on having some background ponies from the show make an appearance so look forward to that!